In the early morning of July 17, Roses floated on the beach as the family and friends of TWA Flight 800 threw them into the ocean. Members gathered on the south shore of Long Island for a special ceremony to remember their loved ones.  

Ten years ago today: July 17, 1996, TWA flight 800 headed to Paris and took off from John F. Kennedy International Airport.  Minutes later the plane exploded in midair and all 230 passengers were killed.

Though investigators have never been able to pinpoint the main cause of the accident, they speculated that a short circuit in one of the wings transferred an excess amount of voltage in the fuel tank causing it to explode.

Ten years after the accident safety experts say these types of accidents are a result of the flammability of fuel tanks. The problem is that oxygen has to be pumped into the fuel tank and it's highly flammable nature will cause any small spark to ignite.

Airbus an airplane manufacturer has proposed a new system that would pump nitrogen into the fuel tanks rather than oxygen. To replace these fuel tanks it would cost as much as $225,000 per plane affecting 3,800 aircrafts.

Since 1996 The Federal Aviation Administration has had several new rules airlines to comply with. Now these airlines argue that they have spent over $1billion dollars modifying their fuel tanks. Despite high tickets costs, the money is not there to install these new fuel tanks. “Economy drives safety changes,” said Michael Barr, Director of aviation and safety at the University of Southern California.

The FAA has concluded that in the next 50 years, nine jets will be likely to be destroyed by a fuel tank explosion.

A study by the National Transportation Safety Board shows that the survival rate for accidents involving serious injuries is 60 percent.  Fires and heavy aircraft damage and 96 percent for minor injuries caused by commercial aircraft accidents.

Safety regulators say that more lives could be saved if they make changes to the safety cards; because despite informing passengers of the proper actions to take during an emergency, most people either don't understand them or even read them. Michael Soward a frequent flyer on international flights says he doesn't read the safety cards because “it's either do or die.”Airline company is just an alternative for him. 

Before choosing an airline you can actually find out about their safety ratings from customers and companies that regulate them. Their ratings are listed in the form of stars ranging from 5 being the best annt flyers from boarding on a plane.